People may not be aware of it, but most may have a start of their own coin collection. It is a wonderful hobby worth taking. Coins should not be that hard to collect since there are plenty to go around with. But that is depending on what kind of coins you wish to collect. Regardless of that, a coin collection can be a breeze to start. You might begin with what is easier to obtain in your area. You can collect your own set of good luck coins. Maybe you can add in to that collection a silver dollar, an old Indian token, or a souvenir token. As you keep on collecting, you might find out sometime later that you already have a coin collection before you.

Coin collecting can be a fascinating hobby because each coin reflects stories from the past through its marks. From royalty, great leaders to power and patriotism, each coin provides a history of the place where it was issued. Famous figures from history are forever depicted in each coin so you have an accurate portrayal of how such famous people look like during their own time.

Deciding on what coins to collect will usually depend on the collector. There are no stated rules on what coins you can collect. But there are different methods that you can use to help you in your coin collecting. One method you can use is by collecting a series or a complete set of the coins in a series such as collecting a series of coins issued at a specific date in time. You can also use the shotgun method where you collect coins that have special interest to you. You might also be able to specialize in collecting coins of unusual shapes such as those found on other countries. This might prove to be a more challenging task but it can also be more rewarding for you as you continue on adding to your collection.

There are many ways available for you to be able to start your own coin collection. There are many places where you maybe able to look for coins to start off your own collection. First off, you can check your own pocket for coins that you might have otherwise discarded. You might have traveled to other countries and they might have a lot of interesting coins worth collecting. You can also check out coin shops in your neighborhood for more valuable coins that you may want to add into your own collection. But be prepared to dish out some cash for some coins that you might want to acquire.

Coin shows also offer you another venue where you may be able to check out a wide selection of coins from dealers from all over. You might also be able to meet up with other coin collectors and build many friendships along the way. You can also ask the help from your friends and family for a coin or two that they might have. Even flea markets provide you with a great place to look for valuable coins at a bargain price. But you might need a good eye to look for such coins.

First of all its very import to distinguish “collecting coins” from “numismatics”, which is the scientific study of money and its history. The act of collecting coins is something more complex because it can have many different conceptions and meanings.

It started, as an art, in the fourteenth century with Petrarch, while collecting them because of their value, as a way of saving up, goes back to the beginning of capitalism. Everything started when Petrarch realized that the coins were much more than simple little golden medals, he saw more than material value in them and decided to start a personal collection. As everything Petrarch invented has become popular, the art of collecting coins started to be known as “the hobby of kings”.

There are basically three levels that coin collectors can go through: casual collector, curious collector, and advanced collector. The casual collector collects coins just because its fun and because he likes it. Even a kid could be a casual collector. They usually dont spend a lot of money looking for rare coins or preserving them, therefore their collection is made of random coins they collect by chance. When the casual collector starts to get more involved with his collection and start to want to go further, he becomes a curious collector.

Curious collectors usually go look for non-circulations coins and they can spend a little money on them, buying them on Ebay or other collection sources. They also start to study more about the art of coin collecting, buying books and frequently visiting coin themed web pages. If the curious collector starts to take his hobby as a way of life, he becomes an advanced collector.

Advanced collectors usually focus on some specific interest, and they spend a lot of money in order to make their collection bigger and bigger. They can collect only coins that were in circulation in a certain determined period of history for example, or they can get specialized in a single country, or maybe focus on a specific coin theme, such as presidents or nature elements.

Apart from what kind of collector you are, or even if you havent even thought about collecting coins, the art of hoarding coins just for pleasure and fun is itself a quite interesting hobby activity.

The hobby can become a business. When that happens, the collector goes into a completely different world where people are capable to do such crazy things to reach their objectives. Professional collectors can spend real fortunes in order to achieve important, sophisticated and rare pieces to their collection. When a personal collection turns out to be an historically and politically valued one, it usually becomes part of a museum or an art gallery collection after the owner passes away. To reach this level of specification is quite difficult, because it demands time, patience, money and the most important thing: the collector must love what he does; otherwise the collection will always be an amateur one. That doesnt mean you have to become a professional collector to make it worth it. Doing that just for fun is already a great way of spending quality time.

So don’t think twice if you want to start to hoard coins, it can start as a small thing, but who knows you might become a professional and famous collector.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Coin Collecting

http://www.GoArticles.com/

First and foremost, you need to know what you have. Why? If you do not know what you have, how do you know you are getting fair value? If you have thousands and thousands of wheat cents, I am not saying you need to inventory them all. In fact, it may not be worth your time. The chances of finding a key coin are slim at best. But you should know how many pennies you have. How? Simply weigh them. Wheat pennies come to about 148 pennies per pound. The same rule can apply to other common coins such as pre 1965 Roosevelt Dimes and Washington quarters. For the rest of your collection, you may want to count the number of each piece. Make sure you have a complete list of your collection.

OK, time to contact a dealer? No, not yet. How do you know you are getting an honest one? Before contacting a dealer, you need to do some homework. Does the dealer belong to any organizations and clubs such as ANA or BBB? How long has s/he been in business? What is their reputation? Check out a couple of dealers before you make that call. Also, just because they advertise in a major coin collecting publication, does not make them honest. I know of one dealer who advertises in a major publication and sells cleaned coins as BU/Unc originals. Most novice collectors would not know the difference.

Now that you have done some research, it is time to contact the dealer. This can be done in many ways. You can give them a call or if you are the shy type, just send them an email. In your email, identify yourself and that you have a collection for sale. Include in the email the inventory you completed. This may come as a shock to many, but some dealers will NOT want your collection. Many dealers specialize in certain types or series, or just may have too many coins in their inventory. If your collection is an average collection of common coins, you may be disappointed to learn that many, if not all of the big dealers simply do not want to bother with you. It is too time consuming to sort the common collections and the margins are too small. Do not fret, all is not lost. Many smaller dealers will welcome the chance to obtain your collection. Many of these dealers work in mail-order only and may have only email or a PO Box as contact information. While they may appear shady, these folks generally are quite reputable. As before, contact the dealer and ask if they are interested. If they are not, just move on to the next dealer. If they are, ask them for their “buy price” list. Many dealers will publish a list of what they are willing to pay for certain coins.

After some hard work, you have a couple offers on the table. The offers are not anywhere near what you expected. Remember what I said above about a “reasonable” offer? Here is the painful truth. Coin Dealers are in business to make money. Sure, many of us chose this profession because we love it, but like everybody else, we still have mortgages, car payments, and college for kids, etc. Many people will look in the latest Coin Prices magazine to come up with an idea of what their collection is worth. Magazines such as Coin Prices are really a list of prices of what you can expect to pay a dealer for a specific coin, not what you can expect to get paid. Markups can range from 20-50% or more for smaller denomination coins such as wheat cents. As I mentioned earlier, some dealers just may not want what you have. Also, many, if not all dealers, reserve the right to revise the offer on inspection of the collection. If you think all your Morgan Dollars are BU, but they are really AU, this would make a huge difference in price. Grading is highly subjective. Also, for larger, more diverse collections, a dealer may spend a considerable amount of time reviewing the collection to ensure a fair price.

So, what to do? Take the best offer and run? Maybe, maybe not. If this is an inheritance, and you have no emotional attachment, you can just sell and never look back. If this is your collection of 50 years, well this may be painful. You can continue to contact different dealers and wait for a better offer. If you feel your collection is really worth more, you can always consign it for auction. With some of the fees the major auction firms charge, it may not be worth it. You can also try your hand at eBay but unless you have a strong feedback profile, many buyers will not bid on your items. You can also locate eBay members who will auction off your collection for you for a percentage of the take. Sometimes this works out well and sometimes not.

For now, lets assume you have a reasonable offer and you decide to sell. By the way, this should be a written offer sent via the mail or sent via email. Many times, the buyer may be located in another city/state. No buyer will send you a check until they have seen the collection. If the collection is large enough (many, many thousands of dollars), some buyers will come to you. If not, your very viable option is to send the collection to the buyer via mail. Yes, that is right, via the mail. Wait you say, that sounds risky. It can be, but if you take precautions, you will have no problems. First, package the collection up very well. Make sure there are NO LOOSE coins jingling around. The sound of jingling coins is music to a thiefs ear. So be sure to wrap them up well and tight. When sending via the mail, the USPS is fairly safe. Usually, you will want to use USPS Priority Mail. Contact your local post office as you can usually get free boxes. Generally, you will want to use the Flat Rate options as you can ship up to 70 pounds for under $10.00 (not including insurance), but ask your local postal clerk for options. For your protection, you MUST insure your package and pay for delivery conformation. Include in your package an itemized list. Most dealers will appreciate this as they will audit the shipment to the list. If all is well, you can expect a check in the mail in no time.

In summary, here are the tips

1. Know what you have, prepare a comprehensive inventory 2. Research some dealers before you contact one. 3. Talk to dealers before sending coins to gauge interest 4. Send your coins. Package them well and insure them 5. Review the offer 6. Collect the cash!

As always, happy collecting!

Keith Scott has been a collector for over 30 years and owns a small mail-order internet-based coin store.